How Vein Diseases Happen

Put simply, vein disease happens because the body’s veins have been damaged in some way. Damage can be caused and impacted by a variety of things, including patient lifestyle, smoking, inactivity and obesity. Medical conditions like cancer, heart disease and blood clotting disorders can also cause vein disorders.

Vein disease is much more common in patients who have a history of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). DVT can cause clots to organize and block blood return long term, even after treatment. This occurs because as the blood clot resolves over time, parts of it often organize and reduce the functional vein diameter, and thus reduce venous blood return to the heart. Additionally, DVTs often organize near the venous valves and can damage these fragile valve leaflets, contributing significantly to development of venous disease.

Venous disorders can affect other parts of your circulatory system. Unlike arterial circulation, venous circulation disrupts the ability to pump blood back to the heart. In the case of DVT, if the blockage becomes dislodged it can travel through your circulatory system. This may lead to a pulmonary embolism (PE), which can be fatal if it goes undetected. PE is estimated to be responsible for 100,000 to 300,000 deaths per year in the United States alone1.

Managing Vein Disease

Vein diseases can be effectively managed in a variety of ways that not only relieve symptoms, but prevent them from worsening. Managing vein disease is all about improving blood flow in the affected area.

Doctors consider several factors when deciding on a management option, including your age, symptoms, ability to tolerate different management options, and the vein disease’s expected progression. Common solutions include:

Compression Therapy: Compression therapy involves using compression garments, like the ones manufactured by JOBST®, to improve blood flow in the damaged area. Compression garments use gradient compression, which puts pressure on the extremities to improve blood flow and help you recover faster by putting a higher level of pressure at the bottom of the limb and gradually decreasing pressure further up the limb.

Medication: Your doctor may prescribe medication for you to take, often in combination with compression therapy. You may also be prescribed medication to help treat leg ulcers.

Chemical Therapy: In some cases, the best treatment is to stop the affected veins from being able to transport blood. Veins are injected with chemicals, which causes scarring and stops blood transport. Your circulatory system will automatically make adjustments to return blood to your heart using healthy veins. Eventually, the damaged veins are absorbed by the body.

Sclerotherapy: In some cases, the best treatment is to stop the affected veins from being able to transport blood. Veins are injected with chemicals, which causes scarring and stops blood transport through those veins.

Surgery: In some cases, surgery may be required to directly change the way the blood flows in the body, and blood flow is directed away from damaged veins. Surgery is also used to repair, remove or transplant damaged veins.

Contact JOBST to Learn More About Compression Therapy Products

JOBST provides patients with compression garments around the world. If you need compression therapy, call us at 800-537-1063 or visit our online catalog to learn more about our products.

Browse JOBST Products

Want to see how JOBST® technologies are incorporated to produce world class compression garments? Visit our online catalog to browse the full line of JOBST compression products for management of edema, venous and lymphatic disease.